The Runaround

This is a very amusing B picture, involving competing detectives (Rod Cameron and Broderick Crawford) on the same case and a boy-meets-girl and they-spat-because-they-love-each-other story. Ella Raines is the gal, who was the Hollywood actress with the most striking 'bedroom eyes' in the business. (Either that or she was part cat, take your pick.) Raines is witty and amusing, and manages a fine droll delivery of such lines as: 'Don't they have paved roads in Indiana?' (That question has never been answered, even today, apart from the ring road round Indianapolis, which is the world's most confusing.) Rod Cameron, twice her size, with shoulders wider than King Kong, plays the lead male. For a hero, he gets pushed around rather a lot in the many fist-fights, but that is because he has to appear vulnerable so that Ella can love the big gorilla and look after him. She is meant to be the spoilt rich daughter of a magnate who has run off to elope with some no-good on a freighter to Mexico. Rod is meant to bring her home and collect fifteen grand. But Broderick Crawford has other ideas. It is all really good fun. There are some amusing lines. Rod says to Ella: 'I only put my arms around you and held you to see if you were still breathing.' Rod puts his head through the canvas roof of an old Ford jalopy in the middle of a rainstorm. It's all pure entertainment, nothing serious. Of course, it's corny. But then some viewers are corny, so that's OK then. I can't explain the title of the film without giving too much away.

Kildane (Rod Cameron) and Prentiss (Broderick Crawford) are rival private investigators and both men are separately hired to bring back Mr Hampton's (Samuel S Hinds) daughter. Penelope Hampton (Ella Raines) has disappeared and her father is concerned that she has eloped with a boyfriend. Who can bring back Penelope and claim the $15,000 reward....?

This film is OK but I'm afraid it is nothing more than that. Despite some occasional humorous touches, eg, the way that everyone who works at the hotel has the same ghastly generic way of speaking to guests (very relevant to today's ghastly focus on the "customer experience"), the script doesn't contain enough humour. It's all a bit boring. Rod Cameron is far too smug in the lead role and he reminded me of Randolph Scott (this is not a good thing as he was equally annoyingly smug in his romantic lead roles). The film does have a twist at the end which you won't guess and it leaves you feeling happy. However, the journey there is all a bit of a waste of time. Shame.

One of the most under rated comedies in all of moviedom. It's riveting throughout. The script is marvelous. Rod Cameron is great. Ella Raines is, well, Ella Raines - gorgeous, sexy, witty, talented, etc., etc., etc!!!! Broderick Crawford, never one of my favorite actors, is excellent in this flick. Too bad he couldn't have maintained this image in his later work...

I love to spring this movie on "sophisticated" visitors to our home and watch their emotions change from "well I'm not to sure of this" to one of "Wow, this a really something!!" There are some interesting plot twists during the movie; and I'll not reveal the hilarious ending. You'll never guess the ending in advance.

A hard to come by movie, especially a good copy, but well worth the effort to find. Fast paced, funny, entertaining!! One of my all time favorites..